Where I document my adventures in travel, style, and food

Are You An Animal Lover?

What I Feed My Best Friends (Pets)

This post is near and dear to my heart. As you guys know, I absolutely love animals, especially my own. I have 2 dogs and a cat. You see them in my photos all the time, but now it is time you know how the sustain their beautiful, god and goddess like figures. Lmao. Jk, they are all chubby bunnies. But really, this post has been requested a few times, so here it is. What my animals eat – in a 5 minute read.

Vitamins

This one is HUGE! In fact, this is going to get its own article. It deserves it. But as a preview, Nala (my oldest dog) started to become sluggish, almost depressed when she hit about 9 years old. We researched everything we could about how to fix it when one day we came across a vet that had a possible solution – vitamins. He explained how dogs aren’t living as long, and blaming it on the nutrients that they AREN’T getting through regular dry food. So anyhow, he came up with a vitamin solution that gives them the nutrients they should be getting and we bought it.

Oh. My. God. It worked 10x times better than we thought it would. They are called Ultimate Pet Nutrition, and they just started making it for cats too! You know I already have 6 bottles of it! If you are wondering, no, I’m not getting paid to say this. Yes, I wish I was, so if you read this Ultimate Pet Nutrition, don’t hesitate to holla at a sista!

Anyhow, order UPN Vitamins for your animals, it helped our Nala get her energy back, her coat is shinier, she howls and talks again in the morning, and so much more. Okay, I’m not giving you any more info on this cause it’s getting it’s own little post later.

You’ve read about my thoughts on this before (if you haven’t click here), and you are going to read it again: Pet Plate is the BOMB. I recommend Pet Plate more than any other company, ever. They have a real chef, that created these recipes for your pups, in a real kitchen, with real human grade food. What more can you ask for? If you haven’t tried it yet, be sure to because its gonna change your life. Plus, the dogs go CRAAZYY for it, so why not treat them to a meal they love?

Human Food

This is our absolute favorite way to go about feeding our fur babies. If we are in a rush, it is our least favorite way. Lol. But if we have the time, it beats out all competitors because we can give them exactly what we/they want. If you were wondering what the proper ratios are – your pups should be getting ruffly 40% protein, 50% veggies, and 10% carbs in each meal. So, keep that in mind when cooking for them. Here are a few recipes that we make for them. You should all give them a try and see what your dogs think about it. I am sure they will be happy you did! You cook for yourself, right? Why not cook for them too?! It’s only fair! These are super duper easy and the reward is absolutely worth the few minutes it takes to prep!

Some Recipes We Make for Them

Breakfast – A 2 Egg Omelet OR Eggs on Toast

I’m not going to write out the recipes for these breakfasts, because they are so simple, you can make them however you want! Just toss it all together for all they care! They just eat it up in seconds anyways! Lol.

For the Omelet, be sure not to use garlic, onion, or avocado. The aren’t very good for doggos. But it is great to use other veggies! Veggies that are good for dogs are: Broccoli, Celery, Carrots, Green Beans, Peas, and Spinach. For our Omelet, we use whatever veggies out of that list that we have! Typically, Spinach, Green Beans, and a little Carrot, and of course, (not a veggie, hehe) Cheese! The best thing about their omelet is, they don’t care how pretty it looks! They love it no matter what! Lol.

For the Egg on Toast – It is a little less well-balanced than the omelet in terms of veggie to protein ratio, but how often do we really stay on track with that? It’s okay to veer off every one in a while. Let them splurge a little! Lol. Oh, and before we put the egg(s) on a piece of toast, we lightly smeared it with some coconut oil. (Yes, coconut oil is fine for them). Not only is this great for their coat, but it helps their #2 bathroom breaks out too (more slippery). Plus, it gives another nutty flavor, so they enjoy it! If you want to add in some veggies to keep it balanced, just cook the veggies in the with the eggs, and then throw that on top of bread. Either way works!

Dinner – Beef and Veggie Stew OR Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry

Beef and Veggie Stew – This one is a real hit! Plus, it is perfect to start them out on. Since you will be implementing less dry food and more real food into their diet, it is best to ween them off the old and onto the new. This is a really wet, yummy dish that you can use as a topper for their dry food to start out! Here’s the list and how to do it!

Ingredients:

1lb Beef (Any beef works, but to make it extra easy, get the precut “Stew” Beef)

2c Cooked Rice (they like white best, but whatever you choose is fine)

1 Sweet Potato (Chopped)

1c Green Beans (Chopped)

1c Broccoli (Chopped)

1tbsp Oil (Coconut or Olive Oil is fine)

Water (To cover)

Easy Directions:

After you cut the veggies, throw everything but the rice in a slow cooker or a pot over low heat, cover with water and let cook for 5 hours or so. Once it’s done, throw some rice in their bowl, top it with the stew and you are good to go! Just be sure to let it cook down before you give it to them because most of the time, dogs don’t care about the temperature and will scarf it down scolding hot! So be careful, and then watch them love, love, love it!

Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry

This is another hit with the pups! They gobble it up like they are poor, starving hyenas, when really, they are well fed, tubby little piglet looking balls of fur. This is another one that you can either put on top of their dry food, rice, noodles, sweet potatoes, barley, yogurt, or pretty much anything else that is good for them.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp Coconut Oil

1lb Boneless Chicken Breast and Thighs (Chopped into Cubes)

6 Carrots (Sliced)

1c Peas

½ Brussel Sprouts (chopped)

1c Broccoli (Chopped)

3-4 tbsp Vegetable or Chicken Broth

Easy Directions:

Mix the first 6 ingredients together in a large pan or wok over medium heat. Let cook 3 minutes then stir. Add in the Broth. Let cook another 3 minutes and stir again. Once the chicken is cooked through, remove from heat and let cool a little. Serve warm.

For our cat, he loves his wet food, so we haven’t completely taken that out of his diet, but sometimes we mix the vitamins into it. Also, we try to give him veggies mashed up and mixed into Tuna or Salmon. He loves canned bird or fish, but really loves fresh fish. No seasonings, no additives. Just throw it in the oven, bake it or cook it in a pan. He doesn’t care. Lol. He’s a simple man. What can we say? But really, you should know what your cat likes over time, and just try to implement healthy foods in there!

Note: With all of these recipes, they are not meant to be fed completely in one meal. It is up to you to research and feed you dog the appropriate amount. I usually feed them a little more than the online guides say, but that’s because my pups are walked, run, and play regularly. But remember, if you want to double the recipe and freeze half, that is fine too!